Fetch error

Hmmm there seems to be a problem fetching this series right now.
Last successful fetch was on March 18, 2018 09:28 (2d ago)

What now?
This series will be checked again in the next hour. If you believe it should be working, please verify the publisher's feed link below is valid and includes actual episode links. You can contact support to request the feed be immediately fetched.

Manage episode 197639323 series 2019827

By
Pastor Mike Fabarez.
Discovered by Player FM and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Player FM, and audio streamed directly from their servers.

Pastor’s Note

Our reading of Amos concludes with the familiar pattern of God’s hope of restoration and forgiveness for those who see their sin for what it is. I trust that God’s promises in the final paragraphs will impress us with his good intentions for his wayward people. In Revelation 7 we read of the 144,000 Jewish missionaries who are especially chosen to proclaim faith in Christ during this time of judgment. As in Amos, we see God’s redemptive purpose toward those who are repentant.

Amos 7-9

Warning Visions

7:1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

“O Lord God, please forgive!How can Jacob stand?He is so small!”3 The Lord relented concerning this:“It shall not be,” said the Lord.

4 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,

“O Lord God, please cease!How can Jacob stand?He is so small!”6 The Lord relented concerning this:“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting a plumb linein the midst of my people Israel;I will never again pass by them;9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,

“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,and Israel must go into exileaway from his land.’”

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was[1] no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.

“You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore thus says the Lord:

“‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;you yourself shall die in an unclean land,and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

The Coming Day of Bitter Mourning

8:1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,

“The end[2] has come upon my people Israel;I will never again pass by them.3 The songs of the temple[3] shall become wailings[4] in that day,”declares the Lord God.“So many dead bodies!”“They are thrown everywhere!”“Silence!”

4 Hear this, you who trample on the needyand bring the poor of the land to an end,5 saying, “When will the new moon be over,that we may sell grain?And the Sabbath,that we may offer wheat for sale,that we may make the ephah small and the shekel[5] greatand deal deceitfully with false balances,6 that we may buy the poor for silverand the needy for a pair of sandalsand sell the chaff of the wheat?”

7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.8 Shall not the land tremble on this account,and everyone mourn who dwells in it,and all of it rise like the Nile,and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”

9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God,“I will make the sun go down at noonand darken the earth in broad daylight.10 I will turn your feasts into mourningand all your songs into lamentation;I will bring sackcloth on every waistand baldness on every head;I will make it like the mourning for an only sonand the end of it like a bitter day.

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,“when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,but of hearing the words of the Lord.12 They shall wander from sea to sea,and from north to east;they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,but they shall not find it.

13 “In that day the lovely virgins and the young menshall faint for thirst.14 Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria,and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’and, ‘As the Way of Beersheba lives,’they shall fall, and never rise again.”

The Destruction of Israel

“Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake,and shatter them on the heads of all the people;[7]and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;not one of them shall flee away;not one of them shall escape.

2 “If they dig into Sheol,from there shall my hand take them;if they climb up to heaven,from there I will bring them down.3 If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,from there I will search them out and take them;and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.4 And if they go into captivity before their enemies,there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;and I will fix my eyes upon themfor evil and not for good.”

5 The Lord God of hosts,he who touches the earth and it melts,and all who dwell in it mourn,and all of it rises like the Nile,and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;6 who builds his upper chambers in the heavensand founds his vault upon the earth;who calls for the waters of the seaand pours them out upon the surface of the earth—the Lord is his name.

7 “Are you not like the Cushites to me,O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”declares the Lord.

9 “For behold, I will command,and shake the house of Israel among all the nationsas one shakes with a sieve,but no pebble shall fall to the earth.10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

The Restoration of Israel

11 “In that day I will raise upthe booth of David that is fallenand repair its breaches,and raise up its ruinsand rebuild it as in the days of old,12 that they may possess the remnant of Edomand all the nations who are called by my name,”[8]declares the Lord who does this.

13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,“when the plowman shall overtake the reaperand the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;the mountains shall drip sweet wine,and all the hills shall flow with it.14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.15 I will plant them on their land,and they shall never again be uprootedout of the land that I have given them,”says the Lord your God.

Revelation 7

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants[9] of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,12,000 from the tribe of Gad,6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,12,000 from the tribe of Levi,12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,and serve him day and night in his temple;and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;the sun shall not strike them,nor any scorching heat.17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,and he will guide them to springs of living water,and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

[1]7:14 Or am; twice in this verse[2]8:2 The Hebrew words for end and summer fruit sound alike[3]8:3 Or palace[4]8:3 Or The singing women of the palace shall wail[5]8:5 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams[6]9:1 Or on[7]9:1 Hebrew all of them[8]9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint (compare Acts 15:17) that the remnant of mankind and all the nations who are called by my name may seek the Lord[9]7:3 Greek bondservants

Pastor’s Note Our Old Testament reading shows us that God always has a succession plan. God will not leave his work without the resources and personnel it will require. Sometimes it is helpful for us to think and pray about what will happen when we are called home. God wants his earthly work to move forward when each of us is gone. May God rich ...…

Pastor’s Note Today we read Mark 16, the ending of which is one of the few places in the Bible where multiple verses of the ancient manuscripts are significantly conflicted. Virtually every edition of the Bible transparently declares this. May this exception remind us that unlike other ancient works the New Testament is blessed with a massive b ...…

Pastor’s Note In Mark 15 Jesus recites the words of Psalm 22 as he is being crucified. Christ is echoing this important psalm and not crafting a question to which he doesn’t know the answer. Christ knows that he is the Lamb of God and that he is incurring the penalty for our sins as our substitute. And yet he is joining in with the pain of the ...…

Pastor’s Note Reading the “cursings” of Deuteronomy 27 is a sobering exercise. May it help to guard us from joining in with our world in praising those who do evil. Let us remember that godliness includes “despising the vile person” (Ps.15:4). While the world is busy heaping “approval on those who practice” sinful things (Rom.1:32), may the “cu ...…

Pastor’s Note Today in Mark 14 we are in the thick of the unfolding drama of Christ’s crucifixion. Please take time to thank God for his orchestration of our redemption. Thank Christ for his humble willingness to endure the scorn and pain we deserve. Thank the Holy Spirit for his active involvement in seeing it all through, and for his indwelli ...…

Pastor’s Note Don’t be afraid of them (Dt.20:1). How many times does God have to tell his people this basic truth? The fear of anyone or anything except God is nothing but a losing proposition. God would have us fear him alone. We should wake up each day wanting to please the Lord, with little concern for what people think. Trust in the care of ...…

Pastor’s Note We should be inspired by the extravagance of the woman with the alabaster flask in Mark 14. While prudence and thrift can be important general principles, there are appropriate times to seek to bring glory to Christ by pulling out all the stops and going over the top. We have many great examples in church history of resolute men a ...…

Pastor’s Note In the book of Deuteronomy we read a reiteration of the dietary restrictions for the Old Testament Israelites. When Christ came he rescinded this ceremonial set of rules (as we recently read in Mark 7:19). Acts 10 sheds light on the role these food regulations played in distinguishing the Jews of the Old Testament and that the abo ...…

Pastor’s Note Our reading today starts with the simple and oft repeated principle that if we love God we will purpose to do what he asks. As John wrote in the New Testament, how can we say we love him and not do what he says? May this truth be made even more urgent in our hearts as we read of Christ expounding on the signs of the end of the age ...…

Pastor’s Note What a terrific text today in the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy. God’s people are told that when things are going well they should never be tempted to think that their progress and prosperity came to them simply because they worked hard or were so talented. God is the giver of all good things. How often we must be impressed with t ...…

Pastor’s Note The word “Deuteronomy” means the “second” giving of the “law.” And in chapter five we have the restatement of the central commands that God himself inscribed for his people on tablets of stone. Let us always remember that God is a Father who cares greatly about the holiness of his people. And as we read the Gospel of Mark let us a ...…

Pastor’s Note What a great reminder in today’s Deuteronomy reading that God is an impartial God, who is willing to discipline even Moses for his disobedience. In our Mark reading we should be impressed with the wise and insightful way Jesus dealt with his enemies as they questioned his authority. May God grant us the kind of godly shrewdness th ...…

Pastor’s Note As we launch into Deuteronomy let us remember the cost of not trusting God. Israel’s lack of confidence in God when they were tested at Kadesh-barnea should remind us to walk by faith and not by sight, especially when the going gets tough. May we trust him and his unfailing promises as we go about our work today. — Pastor Mike Rec ...…

Pastor’s Note In our Old Testament reading today we finish the book of Numbers with a reminder of the mercy of God and of his provision for those inevitable problems the people will face in Canaan. In our New Testament reading we are challenged to consider our ambitions and to rightly understand the biblical meaning of “greatness” in God’s econ ...…

Pastor’s Note As some of the tribes of Israel begin to settle east of the Jordan River and we read the account of God’s leading from Egypt to the promised land, let us take time to chronicle God’s provision and providence in our own lives. God is faithful and good to provide our needs and to sovereignly lead our lives. May we be more faithful t ...…

Pastor’s Note God values the bond of our word. In a culture where lying, deception, and exaggeration are all but celebrated, may we as God’s people be distinctive by the concern we give to keeping our promises. May we, as Psalm 15 reminds us, be willing to keep our vows even when it is costly. — Pastor Mike Recent Readings March 18 March 17 Mar ...…

Pastor’s Note In our Old Testament reading today I trust we will be challenged by the review of the varied gifts and offerings that please God. And may our look at the Transfiguration in Mark 9 remind us that our Triune God is worthy of all of them. I pray, as Malachi 1 reminds us, that we will reflect the purity of our theology by the quality ...…

Pastor’s Note We jump back into the fascinating story of Balaam, the “prophet for hire”, and the failure of Balak’s plan to foil the progress and success of God’s people. What a great reminder to us that “When a man’s way pleases the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Pr.16:7). Unfortunately that doesn’t last long, as the ...…

Pastor’s Note Here in Numbers 21 is the source of Christ’s illustration to Nicodemus regarding the faith his crucifixion will call for – “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes / trusts in him may have eternal life” (Jn.3:13-14). Let us look to the source of our forgiveness ( ...…

Pastor’s Note Today in Mark 7 we read some powerful words from Christ regarding the hypocrisy of drawing near to God with our words, customs, and traditions, while failing to draw near to him in the truthfulness of our spirit, heart, and behavior. Let us never justify our disobedience to God’s word because we “feel spiritual” or because we “hav ...…

Pastor’s Note The Bible has so much to say about the sin of rebellion and insubordination – which is not a popular topic for Christians in the twenty-first century church. May we be receptive to the repeated warnings in the Bible about the devastation caused by rebellions, which always seem to start with the seeds of envy, jealousy, and complai ...…

Pastor’s Note This pivotal scene in Numbers 14 seals the future of an entire generation. As the writer of Hebrews exhorts us, let us learn from this dreadful decision of disregarding God’s promise and allowing the fear of man to govern the decision-making process. When God’s word is clear may we “not harden our hearts as they did in the rebelli ...…

Pastor’s Note May we be reminded of the offense of complaining as we identify with those in the desert in Numbers 11. And let us anticipate the victory we have over the grave as we read of Christ saying “Talitha cumi” in Mark 5, showing us a foretaste of his power to one day call us forth from death into a state of permanent life, no longer sub ...…

Pastor’s Note Every time we revisit a record of the Passover celebration may we gratefully recall the work of Christ, who gave himself as our substitute so that we might be accepted before God and freed from the power and penalty of our sin. May our hearts be encouraged as we read of Christ’s power over all rival authorities in our reading of M ...…

Pastor’s Note May our reading today in the Book of Numbers encourage us to be generous stewards of the material blessings God has mercifully entrusted to us. May we be reminded of the joy of giving, and of the powerful way God uses our gifts to bring glory to himself and his work on earth. “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift” to us (2 ...…

Pastor’s Note God shows his concern for restoration, restitution, marital fidelity, and expressions of devotion and commitment in today’s Old Testament reading. I am praying that our reading in the Gospel of Mark will remind us to be faithful and sincere in “throwing the seed” of a biblical gospel and trusting God for this “seed” to find prepar ...…

Pastor’s Note Even in the desert, the required work was not accomplished in a haphazard way. God is a God of order and not confusion. In Mark’s Gospel we see the unique hazard of the first-century audience of Christ—wrongly assigning the work of the Messiah to Satan. It was catastrophic for them to see all of Christ’s ministry first-hand and th ...…

Pastor’s Note Parts of the Book of Numbers may be a bit challenging to read, with all the seemingly endless lists of hard-to-pronounce names, but remember how important it was throughout the Bible to chronicle the lineage and heritage of God’s people. This was key to demonstrate, as God continued to keep his covenant promise to Abraham and his ...…

Pastor’s Note We are reminded today of the folly and severity of idolatry. May we know that as God’s people we must always seek to keep first things first, loving God as we ought – with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. And may we derive great comfort from the grace, kindness, and forgiveness we see demonstrated in the life of Christ, ...…

Pastor’s Note The centrality of worship, the seriousness of blasphemy, rules of criminal justice, and the wisdom of both the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee are just a few of the insights we gain from today’s reading. May our New Testament text, which focuses on the power, authority, and sovereignty of Christ motivate us to live wholehe ...…

Pastor’s Note After surveying the high standards for the Old Testament priesthood we are led to review the “feasts” of Israel in Leviticus 23. This is a helpful reminder of the appropriateness of breaks, rests, celebrations, and convocations that bring us out of the everyday activities of our various occupations to be recharged, refreshed, and ...…

Pastor’s Note Again in Leviticus the Lord shows himself to be extremely serious about the holiness of his people. As we read about the resurrection and commission of Christ in Matthew 28, may we not forget the gravity of sin that led to such extreme suffering on the cross, and Christ’s desire to see all his disciples “observe all that he comman ...…

Pastor’s Note Beyond the ceremonial regulations, we find many of the moral concerns of God throughout the book of Leviticus – most of which are reiterated in the New Testament after the abolition of the ceremonial rules. May we be careful not to confuse the fulfilled precepts regarding ceremonial “uncleanness”, with the overarching moral dictat ...…

Pastor’s Note Don’t forget that all of these practical health concerns in Leviticus were addressed not just out of a concern for wellbeing, but more importantly in this context, to show us something of their parallel to our need of a remedy for sin. After all, disease and death have their origins in man’s rebellion against God. But as we draw n ...…

Pastor’s Note The leprosy procedures continue, which, as I wrote yesterday, should remind us of God’s grace in providing a remedy for the sinfulness of our sins. Especially as we identify with Peter’s anxieties and fears when he fails to stand up for Christ in Caiaphas’ courtyard. May our forgiveness motivate us to be courageous in our holiness ...…

Pastor’s Note The procedures regarding leprosy may seem like a gross addition to the Bible, but they should remind us of the blight of sin and our need for cleansing. If we could only imagine the repulsive pollution our transgressions cause in the eyes of a perfectly holy God. Praise him that there is a remedy available which can “cleanse us fr ...…

Pastor’s Note The account of Nadab and Abihu, like the New Testament account of Ananias and Sapphira, should be an ample reminder that if God were not gracious we would be dead and judged a million times over. Thank God for his mercy, and may his kindness not only lead us to repentance, but may it also lead us to live circumspect lives. — Pasto ...…

Pastor’s Note The religious leaders in Israel are commanded to be extraordinarily careful about the way they approach the Lord. I pray that today you and I will see the holiness of God in a new way. Of course all of these ceremonial laws were made obsolete with the coming of Christ, but the message behind these symbols will remain throughout et ...…

Pastor’s Note In Matthew 25, as we near the completion of the objectives included in Christ’s first coming, Jesus reminds us of the importance of being prepared for his second coming. I pray that you and I are ready today. May we avoid the indictment of “slothfulness” (v.26) and may Christ find us busy about the work of reaching, teaching and t ...…

Pastor’s Note Right out of the gate in Leviticus we see an intense picture of the substitutionary atonement of Christ. May we all remember that Christ died so that we could live. He suffered so that we could be blessed. He took the just response from the father so that we could receive God’s forgiveness. — Pastor Mike Recent Readings March 18 M ...…

Pastor’s Note As we finish reading the book of Exodus I trust we have a renewed appreciation of the concern God has for us to understand his inherent “separateness.” God is holy and we must never assume that he is simply “the man upstairs” or some other trivialized version of today’s humanized deity. May we all seek to exalt God in our thinking ...…

Pastor’s Note Today we finish reading what is arguably the most scathing recorded indictment by Christ. Here Jesus shows his deep disdain for the hypocrisy of saying one thing and doing another. May we avoid reading the remainder of Matthew 23 with someone else in mind. Instead may God’s Spirit bring conviction where it’s needed, and may there ...…

Pastor’s Note God again shows himself in Exodus to be not only holy, but also amazingly merciful. God could have been done with sinful people on so many occasions, but like a compassionate father, God is gracious and forgiving. Praise God for the “renewed covenant” and for the way he takes his stumbling people and persistently calls them to get ...…

Pastor’s Note The brief description of Oholiab and Bezalel in Exodus 31 should call on us to be thankful for the derived skills and talents that God variously endows on his people. No matter what the excellent craft may be, if it is in fact excellent, it is a gracious gift granted by God. This truth should fuel obedience to the prompt of Christ ...…

Pastor’s Note May today’s reading in Exodus remind us of the intention of Christ found in Revelation, that we are to be a kingdom and priests to our God (Rev.5:9-10). Because of the costly work of Christ we have access and entrance into a genuine relationship with God. And as John wrote, “We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not y ...…

Pastor’s Note More details on the Old Testament worship center today. And with them, more reminders concerning the impossibility of unmitigated fellowship with God in our present fallen state. How grateful we should be for the mediation of Jesus Christ, who suffered at the hands of sinful people to save sinful men and women so that we can one d ...…

Loading …

Welcome to Player FM

What if radio played only the shows you care about, when you want? Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcast content right now. Try us out on any web browser — desktop, mobile, or tablet.